It can be hard to strike a balance between making a restaurant upscale yet comfortable, fancy without being overly pretentious and romantic without excluding group dining. Eden Rose seems to walk that tightrope fairly well with their new establishment, opened in the self-effacing Circle Plaza building a step away from the madness that is Causeway Bay’s Sogo/Times Square shopping hub.
The restaurant’s decor is all swirly wallpaper patterns and chandeliers dangling from the ceiling with shocks of red on the velvet chairs and curtains contrasting against a mostly black interior. Luxe indeed. They offer a set menu that is a bit complicated to decipher, with tidbits of additional fees sprinkled in here and there. We start off with mussels swathed in a cream sauce ($128). It’s a choice that run the risk of being a bit too heavy if the cream sauce overpowers the mussels but this isn’t the case here and we are treated to some tremendously rich and chewy molluscs, the sauce an addictive concoction worthy of doubling up as soup.
Unfortunately, the crab meat au gratin (additional $88) and the lobster bisque (additional $25) don’t fare as well. Both dishes overdose on the cream and come off a bit heavy-handed.
But, no matter, because the black truffle risotto with edible crab ($388) and the linguine with grilled prawns in Sicilian sauce ($180) are swell savoury delights. The risotto is stuffed into a crab shell, an amalgamation of rice, cream, cheese and crab pieces – quite a heavy end to our meal but thoroughly satiating, a willing and able appetite notwithstanding.
A meal at Eden Rose can be quite rich, but this is one fine dining institution where you won’t feel like your wallet’s been pricked by a thorn after a meal. Janice Jann